Frontrunner Rubio says underdog days kept him true to message

HIALEAH — Republican Senate frontrunner Marco Rubio, making his final pre-election campaign appearance at a GOP office here, said starting his campaign as an underdog in early 2009 forced him to keep true to his core beliefs.

Rubio has become a national conservative superstar with polls showing him holding a solid lead over independent Charlie Crist and Democrat Kendrick Meek heading into Tuesday’s election. But Rubio began the race as a longshot in the GOP primary against then-Republican Gov. Crist.

“I’m grateful and thank God every night that we had a difficult election early on because it forced us to know what we stood for,” Rubio told reporters. “When you don’t have money and you don’t have organization, all you have is your message and your core beliefs. Most campaigns when they’ve got a lot of money and a lot of staff, they don’t ever establish those core beliefs. I’m glad that’s how we started and I’m really glad that’s how we’re finishing.”

Rubio greeted about two dozen supporters at a campaign office that features a life-size cardboard cutout of conservative icon Ronald Reagan with a Rubio sticker slapped onto the Gipper’s chest. Rubio exchanged pleasantries in Spanish with the campaign workers, then conducted interviews in English and Spanish.